Omeprazole News

SATURDAY, Nov. 4, 2017 – If you're one of the millions of Americans who takes one of a class of anti-reflux meds such as Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid, take heed: These drugs have been linked to higher odds of kidney trouble. The study couldn't prove cause-and-effect – it's possible that folks who need these heartburn medicines are simply more prone to kidney disease for other reasons. But the review of data did show a link. The medicines in question are called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). They reduce stomach acid production and are among the most widely prescribed medications in the world. According to a team led by Dr. Charat Thongprayoon, of Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, N.Y., recent research has suggested an increased risk of kidney problems for people who take the drugs, but those findings were inconsistent. Probing deeper, the researchers reviewed data from five ... Read more

TUESDAY, Oct. 31, 2017 – Popping certain heartburn drugs like they're candy might up your odds for stomach cancer, new research suggests. The risk was proportionate to how long and how often these drugs, called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), were taken. That risk increased anywhere from two to eight times, the study authors said. Although the relative risk seems high, the absolute risk was small. But it was statistically significant, especially for people infected with Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria linked to stomach cancer, the researchers explained. "While PPIs are one of the most commonly used medications for treating reflux disease as well as dyspepsia, clinicians should exercise caution when prescribing long-term PPIs, even to patients who have H. pylori eradicated," said lead researcher Dr. Wai Keung Leung. He is a professor of gastroenterology at the University of Hong Kong. ... Read more

THURSDAY, Sept. 7, 2017 – A mostly vegetarian diet may provide relief similar to widely used medications for people with acid reflux, a new study suggests. The study looked at close to 200 patients at one medical center who had been diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux. It's a condition where stomach acids habitually back up into the throat, and it's distinct from the much better-known gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – or what most people call heartburn. People with laryngopharyngeal reflux usually don't have heartburn, explained Dr. Craig Zalvan, the lead researcher on the new study. Instead, they have symptoms like hoarseness, chronic sore throat, persistent coughing, excessive throat clearing and a feeling of a lump in the throat. Still, the problem is often treated with GERD drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). PPIs include prescription and over-the-counter ... Read more

FRIDAY, Aug. 18, 2017 – Widely used heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors do not appear to increase Alzheimer's disease risk, according to a new study. Prilosec, Nexium and Prevacid are commonly used proton pump inhibitors. Two previous studies reported a higher risk of dementia among people who took the drugs, which are commonly used by older adults. Proton pump inhibitors work by reducing the production of stomach acid. But this new study found that use of the drugs was not associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's, even among those who took a higher dose or used the drugs for more than three years. The findings are from an analysis of data from Finland on nearly 71,000 Alzheimer's disease patients and nearly 283,000 people without the disease. The study shows people need not avoid the drugs due to fears about developing Alzheimer's, said the University of Eastern ... Read more

-- If eating the right foods and taking medication doesn't ease your heartburn, there may be a bigger issue. The American College of Gastroenterology says you should be concerned about heartburn symptoms if you're: Having a difficult time swallowing or feeling that you have food stuck in your chest. Vomiting blood, or seeing blood in your bowel movements, which probably makes them black and tar-like. Feeling like you're choking from acid traveling up the windpipe, causing coughing, shortness of breath and a hoarse voice. Losing weight unintentionally. Read more

MONDAY, July 3, 2017 – Popular heartburn medications like Nexium, Prilosec or Prevacid may increase your risk of early death when taken for extended periods, a new study suggests. Further, the longer you take these drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), the greater your risk of early death, said senior researcher Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly. He is a kidney specialist and assistant professor of medicine with the Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis. "There was a relationship between duration of use and risk of death," Al-Aly said. "More prolonged use was associated with even higher risk." That said, Al-Aly pointed out that some patients really do need to take PPIs to deal with medical issues, even long-term. "Proton pump inhibitors actually save lives," Al-Aly said. "We don't want to leave people with a scary message. If you need this drug and you're under guidance of a ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2017 – Drugs used to treat acid reflux and ulcers don't appear to boost the risk of dementia, as has been previously suspected, new research suggests. The study focused on widely used proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) drugs – medicines such as Prevacid, Prilosec and Nexium. Previous studies have suggested the drugs may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in people aged 75 and older. PPIs are used to treat digestive problems like reflux disease by reducing the body's production of acid. Researchers from Emory University in Atlanta analyzed a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database for the study. The data, compiled from 2005 to 2015, included close to 10,500 Americans, aged 50 or older, with normal brain function or mild thinking difficulties. Eight percent always used PPIs, and 18 percent sometimes did. Users were older than non-users. ... Read more

MONDAY, March 27, 2017 – Patients who take certain heartburn medications may be more likely to suffer recurrent bouts of a common "superbug" infection, a new study suggests. Proton pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium, or so-called H2 blockers, such as Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet, were linked to a 50 percent increased risk of developing multiple Clostridium difficile infections, researchers found. However, the study did not prove these heartburn medications cause recurrent C. difficile infections, just that an association appears to exist. And one specialist not involved with the study said the findings won't make him change his prescribing patterns. C. difficile can cause diarrhea and life-threatening inflammation of the colon. In the United States, about half a million people get sick from C. difficile each year. In recent years, these infections have become more ... Read more

MONDAY, Jan. 9, 2017 – Women who take certain heartburn medications during pregnancy may have a child at increased risk of developing asthma, new research suggests. For the new study, investigators analyzed eight studies that included more than 1.3 million children. The researchers found that kids born to mothers who were prescribed drugs for acid reflux during pregnancy were at least one-third more likely to have been seen by a doctor for asthma symptoms. Some of the medications come from drug classes that include Tagamet, Zantac, Prilosec, Nexium and Pepcid. "Our study reports an association between the onset of asthma in children and their mothers' use of acid-suppressing medication during pregnancy," said researcher Dr. Aziz Sheikh. He's co-director of the Asthma UK Center for Applied Research, at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. "It is important to stress that this ... Read more

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 2017 – People who take heartburn drugs such as Prilosec and Nexium may be at increased risk of two potentially serious gut infections, a new study suggests. The study, of nearly 565,000 adults, found those on certain heartburn drugs had higher risks of infection with C. difficile and Campylobacter bacteria. Both bugs cause abdominal pain and diarrhea, but can become more serious – especially C. diff. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half a million Americans were sickened by the infection in 2011, and 29,000 of them died within a month. The heartburn drugs in question included both proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – brands like Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium – and H2 blockers, such as Zantac, Pepcid and Tagamet, the study authors said. All suppress stomach acid production, and the researchers suspect that may make some people more ... Read more

TUESDAY, Nov. 15, 2016 – A popular category of heartburn medications – including Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec and Protonix – may increase your risk of stroke, a new study suggests. Known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), these drugs increased people's overall stroke risk by 21 percent, said study lead author Dr. Thomas Sehested. However, the risk appears to be driven by people who take high doses, added Sehested, research director at the Danish Heart Foundation in Copenhagen. "People treated with a low dose of PPIs did not have a high risk of stroke," he said. "Those treated with the highest doses of PPIs had the highest risk of stroke." The extent of risk also depends on the specific PPI taken. At the highest dose, stroke risk ranged from 30 percent for lansoprazole (Prevacid) to 94 percent for pantoprazole (Protonix), the researchers said. Takeda Pharmaceutical, the maker of ... Read more

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ – Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARLZ) (TSX: ARZ), a global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved once-daily Yosprala, the only prescription fixed-dose combination of aspirin, an anti-platelet agent, and omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) in the U.S. Yosprala is indicated for patients who require aspirin for secondary prevention of cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular events and who are at risk of developing aspirin associated gastric ulcers. The Company is expanding its U.S. sales force by 85 representatives in September to a total of 110 high quality sales representatives and plans to begin the U.S. promotional launch of Yosprala the first week in October. "Daily aspirin is a standard of care for secondary cardiovascular event prevention, but ... Read more

-- If you've eaten too much or indulged in a food that's greasy, fatty or spicy, you may have an uncomfortable feeling known as indigestion. Here are common symptoms, courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic: A burning sensation in the stomach or upper abdomen. An acidic taste in the mouth. Pain in the abdomen. Occasional diarrhea. Bloatedness or gassiness. Vomiting or nausea. Growling stomach. Read more

TUESDAY, May 10, 2016 – A popular over-the-counter heartburn medication accelerated aging of blood vessel cells in lab tests, raising red flags about its long-term effect on heart health, researchers say. Faster aging of blood vessel cells exposed to the antacid Nexium (esomeprazole) might potentially hinder the tasks these cells perform to prevent heart attack and stroke, the new study suggests. These lab results could explain why other studies have shown increased risk of heart disease in people who use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) – the class of heartburn medication that includes Nexium, said study senior author Dr. John Cooke. "Our finding that the lining of blood vessels is impaired by proton pump inhibitors is a unifying mechanism for the reports that PPI users are at increased risk for heart attack, stroke and renal failure," said Cooke, chair of cardiovascular sciences at the ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, April 27, 2016 – Despite reported risks, nearly one in four infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are given stomach acid-suppressing drugs, researchers report. However, they noted that the use of these medications has started to decline some in recent years. A number of studies have linked the use of stomach acid-suppressing drugs in hospitalized high-risk infants with infections, necrotizing enterocolitis (a serious disease where intestinal tissue begins to die off) and increased risk of death, the researchers said. These drugs include histamine-2 receptor antagonists such as ranitidine (Zantac), and proton pump inhibitors such as esomeprazole (Nexium). Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, analyzed data from 43 children's hospitals across the United States from 2006 to 2013. They found that nearly 24 percent of roughly 122,000 newborns ... Read more